Salary history bansA running list of states and localities that have outlawed pay history questions

State and local governments are increasingly adopting laws and regulations that prohibit employers from requesting salary history information from job applicants.

The laws are aimed at ending the cycle of pay discrimination and some go further than merely banning pay history questions. A few also prohibit an employer from relying on an applicant's pay history to set compensation if discovered or volunteered; others prohibit an employer from taking disciplinary action against employees who discuss pay with coworkers.

Here, we track the states, cities and other jurisdictions that have passed such bans, and offer a brief description of each law's requirements, its effective date and a link to the original law.

California

State-wide

Effective date: Jan. 1, 2018

Employers affected: All employers, including state and local government employers and the legislature

California's ban prohibits private and public employers from seeking a candidate's pay history. Even if an employer already has that information or an applicant volunteers it, it still can't be used in determining a new hire's pay. The law also requires employers to give applicants pay scale information if they request it.

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San Francisco

Effective date: July 1, 2018

Employers affected: All employers, including city contractors and subcontractors

A city ordinance in San Francisco prohibits employers from both asking and considering a job applicants' current or prior compensation in setting pay. It also bars them from disclosing a current or former employee’s salary information without their consent.

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Colorado

State-wide

Effective date: Jan. 1, 2021

Employers affected: All employers, including the state and any political subdivision, commission, department, institution or school district thereof.

Employers may not ask about an applicant's pay history, nor can they rely on pay history to determine wages. Employers may not discriminate or retaliate against a prospective employee for failing to disclose their pay history.

Connecticut

State-wide

Effective date: Jan. 1, 2019

Employers affected: Any individual, corporation, limited liability company, firm, partnership, voluntary association, joint stock association, the state and any political subdivision thereof and any public corporation within the state

Employers may not ask about an applicant's pay history, unless it was voluntarily disclosed.

State-wide

Maryland

Montgomery County

Effective date: Aug. 14, 2019

Employers affected: The Montgomery County government

The county will neither seek nor rely on an applicant's salary history as a factor in determining whether to hire the applicant or when setting pay. The county must not retaliate or refuse to hire an applicant for the applicant's refusal to disclose their salary history. The county may rely on salary history voluntarily disclosed by an applicant to offer the applicant a higher wage than initially offered if this does not result in unequal pay for equal work based on gender.

Massachusetts

State-wide

Effective date: July 1, 2018

Employers affected: All employers, including state and municipal employers.

Employers cannot request salary history information. They can, however, confirm prior history if volunteered by the applicant or if an offer has been extended. If known, previous pay cannot be a defense to a pay discrimination claim.

Michigan

State-wide

Effective date: June 24, 2018

Employers affected: None

Michigan has prohibited salary history bans in the state. Local governments may not regulate the information that employers must request, require, or exclude on an application for employment or during the interview process.

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Departments may not ask about a job applicant's salary history until a conditional offer of employment is extended. They also may not ask a current or prior employer or search public records databases to ascertain an applicant's current or previous salary. Information already known or inadvertently discovered may not be considered.

Employers may not ask for nor rely on job applicants' salary history when deciding to offer employment, or in determining salary, benefits or other compensation during the hiring process. Employers may ask about the applicant's expectations around salary, benefits and compensation. The law's prohibitions don't apply to voluntary and unprompted disclosures of salary history information by an applicant.

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Employers may not screen applicants based on their pay history. Employers may not require that an applicant's prior wages, salaries or benefits meet minimum or maximum criteria. If an applicant voluntarily, without employer prompting or coercion, discloses pay history, an employer may verify the applicant's pay history and may also consider pay history in determining the applicant's salary, benefits and other compensation. After an offer of employment that includes an explanation of the overall compensation package has been made to the applicant, an employer may request the applicant provide the employer a written authorization to confirm pay history.

New York

State-wide

Effective date: Jan. 9, 2017

Employers affected: All agencies and departments over which the governor has executive authority, and all public benefit corporations, public authorities, boards and commission for which the governor appoints the chair, the chief executive or the majority of board members, except for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

State agencies and departments may not request salary history from applicants until after an offer of employment is extended. If an applicant's prior compensation is already known, that information may not be relied upon in determining such applicant's salary, unless required by law or collective bargaining agreement.

Employers may not seek pay history. An employer may only confirm pay history if, at the time an offer of employment is made, applicants or current employees respond to the offer by providing pay history to support a wage or salary higher than that offered by the employer.

New York City

Employers in New York City are prohibited from requesting information about job applicants' previous pay or benefits. If an employer already has that information, it is prohibited from using that information to set pay.

Suffolk County

Effective date: June 30, 2019

Employers affected: Employers and employment agencies

Employers may not ask, whether on an application or otherwise, about a job applicant's wage or salary history, including compensation and benefits. Employers also may not conduct searches of publicly available records. Finally, employers may not rely on known salary history information in setting pay.

Ohio

Cincinnati

Effective date: March 2020 (estimated)

Employers affected: Employers with 15 or more employees located within the city, including job placement and referral agencies. State and local governments are excluded, with the exception of the City of Cincinnati.

Employers may not ask applicants about their salary history and may not rely on known salary histories. Employers also must, upon reasonable request, provide a pay scale for a position for which an applicant has been provided a conditional offer of employment.

Toledo

Effective date: June 25, 2020

Employers affected: All employers located within the city that employ 15 or more employees, including referral and employment agencies, as well as the city.

Employers may not ask for nor screen job applicants based on their pay history. They may not require that an applicant's pay history, benefits or other compensation satisfy minimum or maximum criteria. Employers may, however, discuss applicants' pay expectations.

Oregon

State-wide

Effective date: Oct. 6, 2017

Employers affected: Any person employing one or more employees, including the state or any political subdivision thereof or any county, city, district, authority, public corporation or entity and any of their instrumentalities organized and existing under law or charter

Employers may not ask about an applicants' pay history until after an offer of employment is extended. Employers also are prohibited from using prior compensation to set pay, except for current employees moving to a new position with the same employer.

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Pennsylvania

State-wide

Effective date: Sept. 4, 2018 (estimated)

Employers affected: State agencies

State agencies may not ask about a job applicant's current compensation or compensation history at any stage during the hiring process. All job postings must clearly disclose a position's pay scale and pay range.

Philadelphia

Effective date: TBD

Employers affected: Any person who does business in the city through employees or who employs one or more employees exclusive of parents, spouse or children, including any public agency or authority; any agency, authority or instrumentality of the state; and the city, its department, boards and commissions

Philadelphia's salary history ban remains on hold while a judge considers a legal challenge to the regulations.

Puerto Rico

Commonwealth-wide

Effective date: March 8, 2017

Employers affected: All employers

Employers may not request applicants' pay history, but the law makes some exceptions for applicants' voluntary salary disclosures and pay corroboration that take place after a job offer has been made, according to a translation from Littler Mendelson.

South Carolina

Columbia

Effective date: Aug. 6, 2019

Employers affected: The city

The city will not seek pay history, nor will it rely on pay history in the determination of wages unless an applicant knowingly and willingly discloses pay history. The city will encourage vendors who do business with the city to adopt similar standards, and it may factor in vendors' pay history standards in the process of determining whether to award city contracts.

Utah

Salt Lake City

Effective date: March 1, 2018

Employers affected: Salt Lake City Corporation

Individuals participating in a city hiring process are prohibited from asking an applicant about their salary history. If an applicant voluntarily discloses salary information, the city cannot rely on such information.

Washington

State-wide

Employers may not seek pay history. They may, however, confirm that information if the applicant voluntarily discloses it or if an offer has been extended.

Employers with 15 or more employees, upon request of the applicant and after extending an offer to the applicant, must provide information about the minimum salary for the position for which the applicant is applying.